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Canisius University Athletics

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Cam Palesse dribbles the ball up the floor in a home game against Manhattan on Jan. 26, 2024.
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63
Canisius Canis 8-13,3-8 MAAC
88
Winner Quinnipiac QU 18-4,10-1 MAAC
Canisius Canis
8-13,3-8 MAAC
63
Final
88
Quinnipiac QU
18-4,10-1 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Canisius Canis 28 35 63
Quinnipiac QU 48 40 88

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Quinnipiac Proves to be Too Much for Men’s Basketball

The host Quinnipiac Bobcats shot 49.3 percent from the floor and made 10 3-point field goals en route to an 88-63 win over Canisius in MAAC men's basketball action Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Arena in Hamden, Conn.
 
The win extended Quinnipiac's win streak to nine straight and improved the Bobcats to 18-4 overall and 10-1 in MAAC play. The Golden Griffins slipped to 8-13 overall and 3-8 in conference action.
 
Matt Balanc led the way offensively for Quinnipiac, as he poured in a game-high 23 points after going 8-for-15 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point land and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Forward Amarri Tice added 18 points and nine rebounds, while Savion Lewis posted eight points and a game-high seven assists for the Bobcats, who also made 12-of-14 free-throw chances in the victory.
 
For Canisius, junior Frank Mitchell registered his league-leading 11th double-double of the season with 14 points and 16 rebounds. With those 16 rebounds, he becomes the first Canisius player since 1969-70 to record 15-or more rebounds in five straight games. Junior Cam Palesse posted a career-high 14 points in the losing effort to go along with six rebounds, while senior Siem Uijtendaal chipped in 12 points and fellow senior Bryce Okpoh added eight points and two assists. As a team, Canisius shot just 33.9 percent from the field, made 6-of-21 shots from 3-point land and hit 19-of-31 free-throw chances.
 
GAME RECAP
Quinnipiac jumped out to an early 9-1 lead after making four of its first six shots from the field and never looked back. Trailing 16-5 just 5:43 into the game, Canisius trimmed Quinnipiac's cushion to three points at 16-13 with 11:34 left before halftime thanks to an 8-0 scoring run over the span of 2:26. In that run, senior Bryce Okpoh and Uijtendaal combined to score six of the Griffs' points, and the run was capped by lay-up off an offensive rebound by Mitchell. That would be as close as Canisius would get the rest of the way, as Quinnipiac scored 10 of the game's next 13 points to give the home team a 26-16 lead, with Doug Young accounting for seven of those points for the Bobcats.  
 
HEAD COACH REGGIE WITHERPSPOON'S POSTGAME COMMENTS
"I thought early on the effort from our guys was there, but when you play a team like this that is rolling, you know they are going to turn up their effort too. We tried to have that mindset coming in, and we just didn't have enough of it."
 
"We got the ball inside, and we have been working on that, but once we got it there, our offensive spacing got cut off and we didn't execute what we've worked on. We talked about being in certain spots when that double-team comes down on the post players and we just didn't execute that well enough and they took advantage."
 
"We had guys on the floor today for extended minutes, and obviously, there is a vulnerability there when that happens. You look up and realize you have guys playing against their top guys. Positionally, our guys were in the right spots, but when they can get it to a one-on-one match-up, that makes it tough to guard."
 
"We need to get on the bus and get back to Buffalo. I don't recall a situation where we've played two games like this with such a quick turn-around, but that's the schedule we have in front of us. We'll get back in the gym tomorrow and get back to work."     
 
GAME NOTES
• Sunday marked the 23rd all-time meeting between the Canisius and Quinnipiac. The Griffs lead the series 15-8.
• The 25-point win for the Bobcats stands are the largest margin of victory for either school in this series, which dates back to 2013-14.
• Mitchell now has double-figure rebounds in 13 of the team's 21 games this season. His 16 boards on Sunday improved his rebounds per game mark in league contests to 12.7 per outing.
• Mitchell now has 15-or more rebounds in seven games this season, which ranks second in the nation.
• Seven of Palesse's career-high 14 points came from the free-throw line.
• Uijtendaal also made seven free-throws on Sunday, which is a new career high.
• Canisius was without the services of TJ Porter (lower-body injury) and TJ Gadsden (upper-body injury) on Sunday. Both players are listed as day-to-day.
• Prior to the start of the game, Canisius announced three players (Tahj Staveskie, Xzavier Long and Joe Jones III) will miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season with injuries.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 6, when the team travels north to face long-time rival Niagara at the Gallagher Center. Game time in Lewiston, N.Y., is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The Canisius radio call will be available for free through the Golden Griffin Broadcast Network at GoGriffs.com and the Varsity Network app, with the M&T Bank Pregame Show set to begin at 6:40 p.m.
 
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